Roses forum: Jan 24th.. what wild weather do you have in store for us?

This weekend was CRAZY. Saturday was nearly 70, but the winds were WICKED. A blizzard up in the mountains always brings winds down to us in the plains, and there was some BAD winds. I'd believe it when the weather people said winds were between 50-70mph gusts.. I drove in it! Sunday was cooler, but wonderful. Mid 40s. Yesterday shot back up into the mid 50s.. DH was home sick so he had windows & doors open to get fresh air.

And today it's snowing like hell. Just took these shots from my office.

DENVER (CBS4) – Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow on this Groundhog Day, and we’ll be staying true to his forecast for more winter Thursday. A massive winter storm is heading our way, bringing as much as a foot and a half of snow to some areas of the Front Range.

This system will bring snow to the Western Slope through the morning hours, and is set to hit the Front Range and Southeast Colorado in the early afternoon hours. We’ll see rain first in many areas in the southeast, but as temperatures drop it will change over to snow.

This combination is going to cause some dangerous road conditions. When the temperatures drop, the rain will freeze and create an icy barrier on the roads. Snow will fall on top of that and it will make travel conditions tricky.

Winter Storm Warnings and Blizzard Warnings go into effect late Thursday in many areas and last through Friday night or Saturday morning. Visibility will be very low, and travel at times could be impossible. Check the Weather Page for updates on the latest warnings.

The storm heads toward Denver and Northeastern Colorado later in the afternoon Thursday. Light flurries are possible after 2 p.m. in Denver, and heavier snow will move in after 5 p.m.

The overnight hours will bring stronger winds and even heavier snow. Overall, 6 to 18 inches of snow are possible for the Front Range, but the Palmer Divide and other areas to the east could see as much as 2 feet of snow.

Snow will stick around and fall heavily through Saturday morning. After that, we taper off and see very cold temperatures for the rest of the weekend and into next week. Most areas on the Front Range won’t see temperatures above 32 degrees for a few days.

Temperatures are expected to stay cold through early next week, so all the snow might not melt for awhile.

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And I'm east of the Palmer Divide. Yay. That's OK, free moisture!

Snow should start flying in Denver after 4 p.m. today and the city could see more than a foot of new powder by the time it stops falling on Saturday morning.

The chance for snow in Denver tonight is 90 percent and up to 10 inches can fall in the city by sunrise Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

On Friday Denver could be hammered with another 8 inches of snow and the storm could dump another 4 inches overnight Friday.

The weather service has posted a blizzard warning starting late tonight through early Saturday morning for the northeastern plains of Colorado, including eastern Adams and Arapahoe counties. Blizzard conditions, which include high winds, are also expected to smack the Palmer Divide area.

A winter storm warning has been posted starting tonight through Friday night for the foothills and the Front Range, including Denver.

The winter storm heading toward Denver, out of the southwest and moving northeast, is a slow-moving system and forecasters expect "prolonged" periods of "heavy snow" from tonight through Friday night.

"Over the plains of northeastern Colorado the snow will be accompanied by strong winds creating blizzard conditions...with very poor visibilities," the weather service reports.

Winds could hit 35 mph east of I-25 as the system churns through the area. Snow accumulation of up to 22 inches is possible in Denver before the storm starts clearing out late Friday night into Saturday morning.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is bracing for the potentially sloppy onslaught with crews, prepared to work 12-hour shifts, at the ready.

Drivers should be prepared to give snow plows "plenty of room" and don't pass plows on the right, a CDOT media release said.

In Denver, crews are preparing to de-ice and plow main streets, and use light plows - pickup trucks mounted with plows - on residential streets, according to the Denver Department of Public Works.

When snow hits 12 inches in Denver, light plows will plow one lane down the center of neighborhood streets, according to public works guidelines.

The weather service is discouraging travel on Friday, especially on the Eastern Plains. Drivers should pack extra food, water, a flashlight and dry clothing. Drivers and passengers should stay with vehicles if they become stuck and wait for help to arrive.

Denver's high temperature on Friday and Saturday should top out in the lower 30s.

Frontier Airlines preemptively cancelled 38 flights this afternoon, as a host of authorities began to brace for the coming storm.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is telling people to stay home until the storm passes and let plows do their work, as up to 22 inches of snow are expected in the Denver metro area and more than 2 feet on the Eastern Plains, potentially whipped into a blizzard by 40-mph wind gusts Friday. CDOT, ominously, said this afternoon warned those planning to strike out in the storm regardless should pack extra food, water, a flashlight and dry clothing. Drivers and passengers should stay with vehicles if they become stuck and wait for help to arrive, CDOT stated in its warning.
People flying out of Denver International Airport anytime Friday through Saturday morning should check with their airlines before striking out on the snowy roads

Denver appears headed to top-10 snowstorm, depending on how much snow falls at the official weather recording station at DIA

A snowfall of 22 inches be the seventh-biggest snowstorm to ever hit the city, behind 22.7 inches that fell between Oct. 20 and Oct. 23, 1906.
[b]"I wouldn't be surprised, by the time it's all said and done, if some areas get 3 feet, maybe down in Douglas County or up against the foothills," said National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Entrekin.[b]

Flurries are expected to begin about dusk and pick up momentum about 11 p.m. then snow steadily through Sunday morning. Because of light snow and warm pavement, the afternoon commute should not be affected. By morning, however, forecasters expect about 10 inches on the ground, with 8 inches or more on Friday. As of this afternoon, the storm appeared to have about 4 more inches possible overnight Friday and Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service. "The duration is really thing," Entrekin said. "It's just going to snow for a long time, and how long it snows will determine how much areas will get."

The Front Range and foothills north to the Wyoming border are under a winter storm warning until 11 p.m. Friday. The Eastern Plains north of Ordway, , including eastern Adams and Arapahoe counties, are under a blizzard warning until 6 a.m. Saturday, with 2 feet of snow driven by sustained 30 mph winds and gusts up to 40 mph.

Blizzard conditions, which include high winds, are also expected to along the Palmer Divide. Weather and highway authorities expect treacherous traveling conditions and recommend postponing it.
State highway department will work 12-hour shifts during the storm. In Denver, crews are preparing to de-ice and plow main streets, and use light plows - pickup trucks mounted with plows - on residential streets, according to the Denver Department of Public Works. The city expects to send out vehicles to clear the streets beginning around 9 p.m.
The city will have its whole contingent of 68 large plows in operation throughout the night as well as 126 four-wheel drive trucks that have been fitted with plowing blades to hit the side streets.
"Every side street will be hit at least once," said Christine Downs, Denver Public Works spokeswoman.

Well, It's been over 15 hours since the snow started. I've got about a foot out on the driveway and luckily enough I'd been preemptive on not going to work today. Got enough junk to do inside to keep me outta trouble (mostly).

Here's the radar. This storm is blowing west, which means it'll bounce off the mountains until it peeters out of moisture. It will get "stuck" here in the metro for hours & hours, just snowing & snowing. I don't mind, I need it!

Well, yesterday we got another 4 inches of powder. The weather people had predicted a dusting.. a 1/2 inch at the most. Snowed for over 12 hours. But that's OK, it all melted yesterday afternoon. It's gonna hit almost 40 today! yay! I have some nasty ice ruts in my street.. hopefully they'll melt away pretty quick! As I look out my window here at work, I see the humungo piles of snow from the road all over the place. Bad thing is that some of it melts during the day and then it freezes into a beautifully black sheet of ice at night just for the morning commute. Yayyyyyy